CHAPTER XI
LIGHTS OUT
The girls sat up till the very last minute that night, discussing theabsorbing happenings of the day. Rose left them to talk to some of theother girls--a fact for which they were thankful--and Nellie and ConnieDanvers went to their dormitory, leaving the three chums alone at last.
They had had supper, a meal not as good as lunch, for the meat had beentoo crisp, almost burned in fact, and then they had come up to thedormitory for a good time together.
They were rather disgruntled to find that Amanda Peabody and Eliza Dilkswere there before them, but even that fact could not bother themmuch--not to-night!
"I tell you what let's do," said Billie, patting her brown curls intoplace before her mirror and noticing with surprise how flushed her facewas and how her eyes sparkled. How could she know, being modest, thatnot only her friends, but almost all the girls that had seen themtogether, thought her even prettier than Rose Belser.
"What?" asked Vi, sinking down on the edge of her bed with a sigh ofcontent. "I don't feel as if I wanted to do any more for years but justsit here and talk things over."
"Well, that's just what I was going to say," Billie answered, turningaway from the mirror and flinging herself on the bed beside her. "Only Ithought it would be more comfortable if we got into our nighties. It'sbeen a pretty warm day----"
"Billie, you're a wonder," cried Laura, jumping up and fishing in herbag for her nightgown. "When it comes to thinking you have it all overus like a tent--as Teddy says," she added apologetically, and the girlslaughed at her.
"Oh, but there are our trunks!" cried Billie, suddenly remembering."Miss Walters said that we were to unpack our clothes and get everythingin shape before to-morrow, don't you remember?"
"Oh, yes, we remember," groaned Violet. "I don't think much of your ideathis time, Billie. Oh, well, I suppose if we must we've got to."
So they opened the trunks, which had been brought up while they were outin the afternoon, and in a very short time had their clothes all hung upneatly in the wardrobes.
Then, with a sigh of mingled content and weariness, they brought outtheir nightgowns and began to undress, talking all the while.
"Isn't Miss Walters lovely?" asked Billie, when she was at last curledup happily on the foot of the bed with Vi at the head of it and Laurastretched out full length with a pillow tucked beneath her head.
"Yes, but aren't the 'Dill Pickles' horrid?" cried Laura. "It's luckythey aren't at the head of things or I guess we'd have a mighty hardtime of it."
"Well, maybe they aren't as bad as they look," said Violet.
"Who was that other teacher that Connie said the girls all loved so?"asked Billie. "I thought I'd remember her name. It was something likePace----"
"Wasn't it Race?" asked Laura, and Billie clapped her hands.
"Yes, that's it. And Connie said the girls adored her next to MissWalters."
"She's the math teacher, isn't she?" asked Violet, adding as the girlsnodded: "It's lucky for me she's nice, because I'm so awful in math amean one wouldn't have me in class more than a week."
"Oh, but it's all perfectly glorious," said Billie softly. "Just think,girls, if we hadn't found that darling old trunk we wouldn't have beenhere--at least I wouldn't."
"And if that man--What was it you and the boys called him?" Laurapaused and looked inquiringly at Billie.
"The 'Codfish?'" asked Billie, guessing at what she meant.
"Yes. And if the 'Codfish' hadn't got scared and dropped the trunk inthe middle of the road you would have lost it after all."
"Yes," sighed Vi, "and that would have been worse than not finding it atall."
"The only thing that bothers me," said Billie, with a little frown, "isthat we didn't go after that man and get him. He may be a regular thieffor all we know, and if he is he ought to be in prison where he belongs.Every once in a while," her voice lowered and she looked over hershoulder nervously, "I dream about him, and when I do he always has amask or something over his eyes, but his codfish mouth is always theresort of grinning at me----"
"Billie!" cried Laura and Vi in the same voice, and Laura got upsuddenly, sat on her pillow, and regarded Billie with startled eyes.
"But you never told us!" she said. "Have you--have you dreamed thatoften?"
"No, only once or twice," said Billie. "Just the same, I wish we couldhave caught him. I always have a sort of feeling that if he robs anybodyelse it will be our fault for not having had him arrested when we hadthe chance. Of course, he may not be a regular thief at all. But, oh,girls, he was an awful looking thing. And I feel sure some day I'llmeet him again."
"You said he had red hair, didn't you?" asked Laura, a delicious littlethrill running up and down her spine. "And little eyes and that broadcodfishy mouth. Goodness! I wish I'd been with you when you chased him.It must have been no end of fun."
"Fun!" exclaimed Billie. "I should say it wasn't fun. Not when I wasafraid I was going to lose the trunk and everything. I was just scaredstiff."
"But do you really think you'd know the man again if you saw him?" Laurainsisted.
"Why, of course I would," said Billie. "Didn't I tell you I've dreamedof him a couple of times--just as he is? I couldn't miss him."
"Wouldn't it be fun," cried Laura eagerly, "if he should try to rob theHall or something and we caught him?"
"Laura!" they cried, and Billie added with a shiver: "It might be youridea of a good time, but it wouldn't be mine. I hope I'll never have tosee his old codfish mouth again."
"Oh, I don't know," said Laura, putting the pillow under her head andlying down again. "Sometimes when I'm very brave I wish something reallyexciting would happen--you know, a burglary or something. I'd just liketo see what I'd do."
"Well, I know what I'd do----" Vi was beginning, when the "lights-out"gong sounded through the hall and the girls scurried wildly for theirbeds.
Amanda and Eliza were already in theirs, and Rose, coming in at the lastminute, fairly flew into her nightgown and then scurried over to put outthe one remaining light.
The room had been in silence and darkness for nearly five minutes whensuddenly Laura leaned over and whispered to Vi.
"What would you do if a burglar got in?" she asked.
"I'd just get under the covers," said Vi, "and die off fright!"